Making The Mo’s of It

Double-takes. Stares. The occasional eye-brow raise. Such has been the life of over 100 HBS students who have taken HBS back in time and reinstituted a fallen institution to a central place in the campus identity: the mustache.

These students aren’t simply retro hipsters trying to induce flashbacks in professors and alumni who were at HBS when the mustache roamed free along the upper lip of male members of the student body. Rather, they have decided to let their “Mo’s” grow in support of the Movember Project – an effort to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health. This effort, whose increasing presence on campus has been the result of a collaboration between the HBS Blades, the Rugby Team, the Women’s Student Association, and the Student Association, raised over $12,000 for men’s health last year, and has already doubled the number of registered participants on campus.

To understand what has sparked this phenomenal growth, we sat down with so “Mo Bro’s” to learn about their experiences.

Logan Campbell

Harb: Who are your mustache influences? Are there any well-known mustachioed men that you aspire to be either in style or in life?
LC: Civil War Union General Ambrose Burnside. A man with facial hair so powerful and intimidating, that he had an entire category of facial hair named after him: The “SideBurns”. General Burnside was a bold, courageous, daring, and patriotic man, willing to put his life and facial hair on the line to preserve the union and free the slaves. My moustache can only dream of achieving such heights, but perhaps it will inspire me to be great myself.

Harb: What does your fiancée think of your mustache?
LC: My fiancée is not a fan, as the civil war ended nearly 150 years ago, and disco’s demise began about 40 years ago, and those are the last two times moustaches were popular.

Harb: What is the best part of having a mustache? What is the worst part?
LC: Wait, there is a worst part? Why would there be a worst part? I challenge the basic premise of the question and refuse to answer.

Sean Salas

Harb: What is your mustache’s personality?
SS: My mo screams for attention. It wants to be recognized from far away and stand out amongst other mo’s. My mo is fashion-oriented with a classic, bushy appeal. Most importantly, my mo is passionate about raising awareness to combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges.

Harb: Does it have a name?
SS: Panchito.

Harb: What is the best part of having a mustache? What is the worst part?
SS: The best part is I can’t stop looking at myself in the mirror. The worst part is I can’t stop looking at myself in the mirror.

Harb: How do you take care of your mustache?
SS: Daily trimming is a must. I also need to give Panchito a quick bath after every meal.

Harb: Have you been to recruiting events with your mustache? How has it influenced that process?
SS: Of course! I went to a VC presentation and it prompted a conversation about Movember and men’s health awareness. I had a distinguishable competitive advantage against those without a mo. A lesson to all: grow a mo!

Harb: What is the life expectancy of this mustache? Will it make it to Holidazzle?
SS: Panchito likes hibernating after Movember, but we’ll see . . .

Doug Raicek (Last year’s runner-up with over $1,600 raised)

Harb: How would you describe your mustache?
DR: My mustache’s personality is that of a spirited fundraiser. Is says, “Hey, I know I look like an idiot but you should really think about donating to Movember – it’s a great cause!”

Harb: What is it like to walk around HBS with a mustache?
DR: Best part: Looking like a jackass. Worst part: Looking like a jackass.

Harb: Do you have any secret grooming tips that you want to share?
DR: Conditioner. By week three it gets pretty coarse and a little conditioner can go a long way.

Harb: How does your significant other respond to your mustache?
DR: She donated to the cause but I’m pretty sure she’s plotting to shave me in my sleep.

Harb: How has your mustache affected you professionally?
DR: I haven’t had to go to any recruiting events, but have had a few customer meetings recently for the startup I’m working on. We’re in the healthcare space, so I’d like to think it’s been a net positive.

Harb: How have friends reacted to your mustache?
DR: Reactions have been a mix of support, amusement, and disgust. Last year a sectionmate described his inner conflict with, “it’s somewhere between the sensation of being captivated by a beautiful set of eyes and being unable to look away from the scene of a car accident.”

Harb: What does your mustache say about you?
BW: That I should ignore my CareerLeader survey results and become a Mountie (see attached picture for inspiration).

Harb: Does it have a name?
BW: The Tickler

Harb: Is this your first time with a moustache?
BW: I’ve grown out the whole beard before but have never focused solely on the ‘stache. The biggest difference here is that it’s all about the delta between the mustache and the rest of the facial hair. You need to keep the rest of the face clean to really highlight the awesomeness of the mustache. So it takes a ton of effort.

Harb: What is the best part of having a mustache? What is the worst part?
BW: Best part: the impressed and jealous passers-by. Worst part: the dismayed and disgusted passers-by. Sadly, it’s about a 80-20 split favoring disgust over jealousy.

Harb: How have your family members or close friends reacted to your mustache?
BW: replica tag heuer uk My dad told me that I looked exactly like he did in the 70s, at which point I swore to remove it immediately. Somehow I held back.

Harb: What is the life expectancy of this mustache? Will it make it to Holidazzle?
BW: It should last until some semi-important networking meetings coming up next week replica omega uk. That, and my wife has threatened me with bodily harm if the mustache is still in existence when our baby girl is born, for the newborn photos. She’s due
November 23rd.